Dear Hapless Reader:
I've claimed Dostoevsky as "my favorite author" for a few years now. In fact, his stoic portrait hangs above my desk, purchased in Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery a few years ago. Recently, through circumstances not entirely of my doing, I've been completely embarrassed that I've only read maybe half of his short stories and novels. This is simply unacceptable. Either I am a phony, thinking I can get by with only a layman's understanding of his life and work OR he's not the great author he's cracked up to be...and I am none the wiser.
All that said, I've decided to blog my way through all his short stories and novels. I hope blogging will inspire me to read Dostoevsky's work with a greater depth and force me to gain a communicable appreciation for his work. I know Russian literature well enough to know that it cannot be read briefly or lightly, being replete with the big, philosophical questions that have defined human existence for millennia. So, first and foremost, I blog to engage, grapple, and learn from a lifetime of literary achievement. Thanks for following!
